poverty

[pov-er-tee]

noun

1. the state or condition of having little or no money, goods, or means of support; condition of being poor.

   Synonyms: penury, pauperism, indigence, destitution, neediness, privation
   Antonyms: affluence, wealth, riches

2. deficiency of necessary or desirable ingredients, qualities, etc..

   poverty of the soil.

   Synonyms: insufficiency

3. scantiness; insufficiency.

   Their efforts to stamp out disease were hampered by a poverty of medical supplies.

   Synonyms: dearth, paucity, shortage, inadequacy
   Antonyms: sufficiency, surfeit, abundance, glut, excess

poverty

/ ˈpɒvətɪ /

noun

1. the condition of being without adequate food, money, etc

2. scarcity or dearth

   a poverty of wit

3. a lack of elements conducive to fertility in land or soil

Word History and Origins

Origin of poverty¹

First recorded in 1125–75; Middle English poverte, from Old French, from Latin paupertāt- (stem of paupertās ) “small means, moderate circumstances.”; pauper, -ty ²

Word History and Origins

Origin of poverty¹

C12: from Old French poverté, from Latin paupertās restricted means, from pauper _poor

Example Sentences

Caicedo, the youngest of 10 siblings, grew up in poverty in Ecuador but has lifted himself and his family out of it through football, becoming a footballing icon back home.

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Public health officials have issued an "urgent call" to tackle child poverty in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly.

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About 39 percent of Ethiopia's 130 million people lived below the poverty line -- less than $3 a day -- in 2021, a figure the World Bank projected will rise to 43 percent this year.

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Madagascar is one of the poorest countries in the world, with 75% of its 30 million people living below the poverty line, according to the World Bank.

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Tchiroma drew several thousand people to his campaign rallies across the country, where four in 10 people were living below the poverty line in 2024, according to the World Bank.

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Related Words

• bankruptcy 
• debt 
• deficit 
• difficulty 
• famine 
• hardship 
• lack 
• scarcity 
• shortage 
• starvation 
• underdevelopment www.thesaurus.com

When To Use

What are other ways to say poverty?

Poverty refers to the state or condition of having little or no money, goods, or means of support. How does this noun compare to synonyms destitution and indigence? Learn more on Thesaurus.com.